If gender is constructed...

As we discussed in class, gender, like race is a very socially constructed phenomenon. Society creates a perception of what a girl should be, and what a boy should be. If these social constructs were not so embedded into our brain, would that mean that transsexuals would not exist? Transsexuals usually change sex because they do not feel as they belong into the gender they were born and raised. However, if we did not have this strict belief of what a male and female should act and look like, then there would never be anybody feeling as if they do not belong as the sex they were born. A man could be born a male and still like things that women usually are associated with,and vice versa for a female. If we had no gender, then this would not be so abnormal. Our society tries to be so open, yet there are only two genders they deem as "normal", despite the fact that there are other cultures that recognize another gender. And, then to make matters worse for people like transsexuals, who already feel like they do not fit in, they are discriminated against and hate crimes and performed upon them. It's just sad, really. It would be very interesting to see how a child would grow up if they were raised gender-less, because then we could see how one exists without the social norms of gender controlling their life.